Lab Safety/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Rita and Moby Rita wears a white lab coat as she leads a group of small robots through an exhibit hall filled with glass cases. An emblem on the floor depicts a broken beaker and text reading "Hall of Accidents." Rita rides a Segway over the emblem. RITA: Welcome... to the Hall of Accidents! The world's largest collection of laboratory mishaps, misadventures, and cautionary tales. She spreads her arms wide to gesture to the glass-enclosed displays they pass. They include bronze statues of injured robots: one with a leg cast, crutches, and a head bandage; one that is being electrified when dropping a toaster in a bowl of water; and one that is looking at a bottle of ethanol. A fuse is connected to the ethanol bottle with a label reading "Highly Flammable." RITA: Some exhibits in this facility may strike you as funny. Rita stops short on her Segway and spins around to face the group or robots. One bumps into the Segway. RITA: But your safety... is no laughing matter. Lots to see and do today, so let's keep it moving. Rita spins back around and continues riding her Segway. The tour group arrives at a letter displayed on a glass-enclosed pedestal. RITA: First stop: the letter that inspired this multimillion dollar shrine to safe practices. Rita reads from the letter. RITA: Dear Rita, I really like science, but why are there so many rules in the lab? Thanks, Sarajane. Following laboratory rules may not be the most thrilling part of science. Some of them may seem overly cautious or random. But they keep you and others safe, so you can get on with all the fun stuff! Rita continues leading the robots through the exhibit hall. LOGIC BOT: Bloorp? RITA: Yup, a lot can go wrong in a lab, as you can see. Way more than we can cover today. The group moves through a huge atrium filled with displays. Visitors examine them, as well as the other exhibits on multiple floors. Rita and her group arrive at a display with a sign reading "Be Prepared." RITA: That's why this first rule is so important: Be Prepared. Your teacher will provide specific instructions for any day in the lab. Make sure to read carefully from start to finish. An image shows a printed page titled "Onion Cell Lab." Text is arranged under headings that read "Materials," "Procedures," and "Observations." RITA: They'll tell you where to get all the materials you're using that day. So you can gather all your supplies in one place. Instead of having to rush around in the middle of things. An animation shows two robots in a science lab. One is holding a sheet of instructions. The other darts off screen and returns with a microscope, slides, a bottle of liquid, and an onion. RITA: The instructions also list the procedures you'll be following. As well as any special precautions you may need to take. That way there'll be no unpleasant surprises while you're working. An animation shows the "Procedure" section of the instructions, listing each step of the lab activity. A line at the bottom says "Microscope slides are fragile!" next to a caution symbol. RITA: This poor gal didn't read her lab instructions. So she didn't know that mixing pure sodium with water results in, um…that. Rita looks at the display of a robot pouring liquid from one test tube into another. The robot's face, dress, and hair are charred from an explosion and heat waves emit from her head. LOGIC BOT: Bloorp? RITA: Yup, you gotta to be extra cautious with chemicals. Rita leads the robots to another display under a sign reading "Be Careful With Chemicals." RITA: Which brings us to our next exhibit. Chemicals may look harmless, but looks can deceive. Make sure to read the labels, especially the NFPA diamond. An animation shows a bottle of liquid with a diamond label. The diamond is divided into blue, red, yellow, and white sections. RITA: It shows how dangerous a substance is on a scale of 0-4. The blue diamond shows how toxic it is. Risk of catching fire goes in the red diamond. And its tendency to corrode or explode is shown in yellow. The animation shows a skull and crossbones appear on the blue section, a flame appear on the red section, and an explosion on the yellow section. RITA: This is plain old water, so it’s all zeroes. The images on the diamond change to zeroes and the bottle's label changes to "Water." RITA: And this one looks exactly like water, but it’s not. It’s acetyl chloride, which is poisonous, flammable, and corrosive. The animation shows an identical bottle with a blank label and NFPA diamond. The label changes to read "acetyl chloride" and the blue and red sections of the NFPA diamond fill with the number 3. The number 2 fills the yellow section. RITA: If you spilled some of that on your arm, it would burn your skin. The white diamond contains any special instructions for a chemical. The animation shows a "W" with a line through it in the white section of the NFPA diamond. RITA: That symbol means, "don't mix with water." LOGIC BOT: Bloorp? RITA: This robot here? He didn't read the NFPA diamond on a bottle of strong acid. If he had, he wouldn't have poured it down a metal sink! Rita turns to the display case. Inside, a bronze robot is trapped underneath a melting table. Water sprays from where the sink once was. Rita stares at the scene. RITA: Look at him now… LOGIC BOT: Bloorp. RITA: All right, looking's over! Stay with me, everybody, we've got some ground to cover! Rita speeds off on her Segway, leading the robots through floors filled with displays. She stops short in front of one of them with a sign reading "Dress Appropriately." RITA: Accidents sometimes happen. Even when you're prepared and paying attention. That's why it's so important to dress properly for the lab. An image shows Tim wearing a t-shirt, shorts, flip-flops, and headphones. RITA: It’s all about personal protective equipment. That means form-fitting, long-sleeved clothing and closed-toed shoes. So your skin will be protected from any broken glass and chemical spills. The image of Tim changes to show him wearing a sweater, jeans, and closed-toe shoes. A beaker containing green liquid drops and shatters on the ground. The liquid splashes on Tim's pants and shoes. RITA: Some experiments may require you to wear lab coats and gloves. And safety goggles—your regular glasses aren’t enough to protect your eyes. Especially if you work with any hazardous materials. A lab coat, gloves, and protective goggles appear on the image of Tim. RITA: Last but not least, if you have long hair, pull it back. And stow any dangly accessories. Those are dangerous around open flames and mechanical equipment. An animation shows Tim with long hair tied back in a ponytail. He removes his headphones. RITA: That's what happened to this wayward bot. Rita looks into the display case. There's a statue of a robot with her head stuck in a centrifuge machine. RITA: Her necklace got caught in a centrifuge. Sad! LOGIC BOT: Bloorp? RITA: Like I said, accidents can happen, even when you've done everything right. So it's a good idea to know where all the emergency equipment is. Your lab should come equipped with a fire extinguisher…An eyewash station, if something gets in your eyes. And a safety shower, if a dangerous chemical spills on your skin. Rita leads the robots through the exhibition hall. An image of a girl using a fire extinguisher to put out a fire appears. It's followed by images of a man using an eyewash station to rinse his eyes and a figure using a safety shower. RITA: By the way, tell your teacher right away if you see anything spill. They'll let you know if it's a safety shower kinda situation. Or if you just need to clean up. Rita leads the group of robots on the Segway and stops in front a display with a sign reading "Keeping It Clean." RITA: Speaking of which…Keep your station organized. A messy work area makes spills and other mistakes more likely. So keep it neat. An animation shows a messy lab table with green liquid splashed everywhere, overturned bottles and equipment, and a running faucet. Suddenly, the lab table is clean and the equipment is neatly organized. RITA: If you break anything, don’t try to clean it up with your hands. Use a broom and a dustpan instead and throw it away into a sharp objects container. An animation shows a hand knocking a beaker off of a lab table. It shatters on the ground. As a hand reaches to pick up the sharp glass, a red circle with a diagonal slash through it appears on top of it. The hands then use a broom and dust pan to clean up the glass and dispose of it in a yellow bin marked "Sharps." RITA: And if you’re working with dissections, be careful with those scalpels. Cuts and punctures are the number one cause of injury in the lab! An image shows a scalpel next to a bleeding finger. RITA: Just take a look at this guy. You know the drill: he didn't listen, yada yada, let's keep it moving… Rita looks at a statue of a robot with glass shards stuck all over him. She then moves on with the robots trailing behind her. RITA: Time for the lightning round of Don'ts! Don't eat or drink in the lab! You don’t want methyl-flefyl-mono-hydrate all over your sandwich. Don't pour any chemicals down the drain unless your teacher says so. We've seen what can happen there. Don't taste any chemicals or sniff them directly. If you need to know what something smells like, waft the air above it toward you. And finally, no running around or other kinds of horseplay! An animation shows the following icons, each inside a red circle with a diagonal slash through it: a sandwich with a drink, a chemistry flask pouring liquid down a sink, a test tube held next to a mouth, a boy sniffing a test tube, and a robot jumping on the back of another robot. A green circle surrounds an icon of a boy wafting the air above a test tube toward his nose. LOGIC BOT: Bloorp? Rita and the tour group look at a display showing Moby on a rearing horse. Chemicals and lab equipment are flying everywhere. RITA: This guy was horseplaying. I mean, he brought a literal horse into the classroom. Which, um, well, bringing wildlife into a lab setting... that's frowned upon, too. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts